Subject: New SAT Update
From: "Jackie Morillas [email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: 7 Mar 2014 10:29:23 -0500

Dear Ninth
Grade Parents,

The College
Counseling Team wanted to share with you the following information regarding
changes being made to the SAT which will impact your ninth grader.  In
December of 2013, the College Board announced that revisions to the SAT will be
implemented in the spring of 2016. This past Wednesday, specific details were
released around what these changes will entail. As with previous test
revisions, the PSAT will change first in the fall of 2015, and the SAT will
follow. The new PSAT will serve as a preview for the new SAT.

The revision is
comprehensive, and there's no question that the SAT in 2016 will look
significantly different from the current version. We've summarized key updates
in the chart below; headlines include the return to a 1600 scale, an
optional essay, and shifts in approach to both vocabulary and math concepts.

Changes
to the SAT

Current
SAT

(Class
of 2014-2016)

New
SAT

(Class
of 2017 and beyond)

Scoring

·  ¼-point
penalty for wrong answers

·  Score
is based out of 2400 -- 800 for Math; 800 for Reading Comprehension; and, 800
for Writing

·  No
wrong-answer penalty

·  Score
is based out of 1600 -- 800 for Math; 800 for Evidence-Based Reading and
Writing. Optional essay will receive a separate score

Timing

·  3
hours 45 minutes

·  3
hours; 3 hours 50 minutes with optional essay

Administration

·  Only
available in print

·  Test
focused on broad range of non-essential topics and content

·  Available
digitally and in print

·  Fewer
questions with a greater focus on in-depth analysis of content

Essay

·  Essay
is required

·  Students
have 25 minutes to write a persuasive essay in response to a prompt

·  Accuracy
of information not tested

·  Essay
is optional

·  Students
have 50-minutes to analyze document and draft essay

·  Essay
requires students to analyze source documents and explain how the author
builds an argument

·  Facts
matter

Math

·  Focus
on wide array of topics

·  More
emphasis on computational skills

·  Calculators
permitted for all sections

·  Focus
on 3 topics -- problem-solving and data analysis, “the heart of algebra,”
and “passport to advanced math”

·  Real-world
problem solving including analyzing data, charts, and graphs

·  Calculator
no longer permitted for all math sections

Reading
and Writing

·  Writing
score combines writing multiple-choice and essay

·  Reading
section has two question types: sentence completion and passage-based
questions

·  Reading
and Writing sections combine into “Evidence-Based Reading and Writing”
section

·  No
Sentence Completions

·  Focus
on real-world vocabulary-in-context as well as revising and editing writing
in passages

·  Focus
on analyzing Literature, Social Studies, and Science passages

·  One
passage will be a Primary Source from American and/or World History, such as
The Constitution or Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech

As a reminder - current seniors, juniors and
sophomores will not be affected by these changes. These graduating
classes should continue preparing for the current iteration of the SAT.
However, current ninth grade students will see the new version of the SAT in
the spring of 2016 as juniors.

The following link details the changes being
made to the current version of the SAT: https://www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat/redesign
and a recent article from the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html?_r=0

The
College Counseling Team

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